Who will win the 2025 World Darts Championship?

If we’re being realistic, there are only two players who are going to challenge for the world title. But that wouldn’t make for a good article now, would it?

With that in mind, let’s dive into the potential dark horses before tackling the two big favourites for the Sid Waddell trophy.

 

The Gary Anderson revival

It’s no secret that Gary Anderson went missing for a couple of years. Bar a quarter-final run at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts, the Flying Scotsman was essentially a ghost.

The 53-year-old is now back and firing on all cylinders. A quarter-final run at the European Championship and a Grand Slam semi-final proved the two-time world champion is still a dangerous contender.

There's also the experience factor. Anderson has been to five world championship finals and reached the semi-final stage on seven occasions.

At the current price of 11/1, the Scot will inevitably attract a lot of interest in the betting.

 

Michael van Gerwen threat

Make no bones about it, Michael van Gerwen has endured one of his worst seasons in years. Despite this, the bookmakers are taking the cautious approach, pricing him at 12/1.

MVG has been a titan on the darts circuit for over a decade, but this year marks the first time since 2011 that he has failed to reach at least the quarter-final stage in more than two PDC ranked televised events.

The Dutchman hasn’t won a major title all year for the first time since 2021 and is struggling to reach his old heights.

All the doom and gloom aside, there is a positive. With all the spotlight on the two Lukes, there is somewhat less pressure on MVG’s shoulders. Perhaps that could inspire him to deliver a famous Ally Pally run.

 

Surprise name among the giants

Wessel Nijman is certainly no household name, yet the Dutchman finds himself fifth in the betting.

The 24-year-old recently defeated Stephen Bunting to claim his first senior PDC title, the Players Championship 24.

Nijman also won the 2024 PDC Development Tour series, claiming seven title along the way.

The outsider is currently priced at 30/1 with the bookmakers.

 

Household names in the dust

If you’re a darts casual and only turn up for the worlds, you might wonder where all the big names are?

Former world champion Michael Smith, for instance, is available at a mammoth 33/1 after a slow season.

Another former world champion Gerwyn Price has also slid down the pecking order and is available at 35/1.

Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton, James Wade and Peter Wright are all 50/1 and above.

 

Two horse race - Humphries and Littler

Defending world champion Luke Humphries and teenage sensation Luke Littler have been head and shoulders above the rest this year.

The two Lukes have won seven major titles between them in 2024, and a repeat of last year’s world championship final is certainly on the cards.

The last time we had the same final line-up at the worlds was back in the late 90s when Phil Taylor and Dennis Preistly contested for the title three years in a row.

Littler is the slight favourite for this year’s showpiece, priced at around the 2/1 mark by the bookmakers.

Humphries is close behind at 3/1 as he looks to become the first man to defend his crown since Gary Anderson in 2016.

If we had to back one of these men, our tip is to go with Cool Hand Luke. There is little between the two men in terms of quality. However, Humphries does have the experience edge as he looks to make history at Ally Pally.

 

READ MORE: 2025 PDC World Darts Championship: Free bets, prediction, full draw, prize money and where to watch

READ MORE: 2024 Darts Calendar: Every major televised tournament results from the entire year

 

 

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